Apple's succession strategy: old managers are also tied to the Group
At Apple, top management never quite works out: the company knows how to keep important employees in special positions. This has advantages and disadvantages.
Apple boss Tim Cook at an Apple keynote: The long-standing team is kept together.
(Image: Apple)
When Apple announced at the end of August that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri would be leaving his post by the end of the year, the accompanying press release contained an interesting addition: Maestri, who has been in office for ten years, will remain loyal to Apple. Rather than having to deal with the tough day-to-day work of a CFO, he will continue as head of the Corporate Services department from January, where he will be responsible for internal IT and real estate, among other things. At the same time, he will train his successor Kevan Parekh.
Many men over 60
This example illustrates an interesting approach by Apple: The company tries to hold on to successful employees beyond their desire to leave, even linking them to the company beyond retirement. Maestri, 61, is just the latest case in point. Even more famous is Phil Schiller, the former powerful global head of marketing, who is already 64 and, as a so-called Apple Fellow, is still responsible for event organization and , above all, the App Store, although his marketing post has long since – been filled for four years –.
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Apple had previously succeeded in recruiting former hardware boss Bob Mansfield, now also in his mid-60s, to head up the (albeit failed) Apple Car project. Mansfield also wanted to step down, but then stayed on at the request of Apple CEO Tim Cook. As the financial news agency Bloomberg recently wrote, this is also the goal of Steve Jobs' successor, who has been in office since 2011: the old guard should stay on board "as long as possible".
Internal and external stability
This is particularly important internally – and for investors. After Jobs' death, there was a fear that Apple could lose its direction. Cook managed to stabilize the ship – and ensured gigantic sales and profit growth in the following years. Head of Design Jony Ive, probably Jobs' closest colleague, was also retained at first. He wanted to leave in 2015, but was then even promoted to Chief Design Officer, only to work less than before. Ive later left completely, but initially served Apple as a consultant with his new design company LoveFrom.
The situation is said to have been similar for Mansfield's successor Dan Riccio, who was then even responsible for Vision Pro. The next examples could be Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, probably Cook's closest colleague, and service boss Eddy Cue. Many a newcomer to Apple management will then ask themselves when their time has come to step up to the top. This is likely to be the case for Cook himself, who is now 63 years old. There have recently been reports that the current head of hardware, John Ternus, could one day become Apple CEO. Born in 1975, he would be a youngster. It already seems clear that Cook will be at his side for the time being.
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